Councilman stands by email calling Gov. Inslee "lying whore"

As other members of the Spokane city council have gathered to condemn him, Councilman Mike Fagan is defending his decision to sign an email in which he called Governor Jay Inslee a "lying whore."

The quote "lying whore" was written in an email describing Inlsee, the e-mail itself part of a fundraising effort by the group 'Voters Want More Choices,' and the message doesn't sit well with his fellow leaders at City Hall.

"Even if you are trying to do a fundraising activity the kind of language is just really inappropriate," Spokane City Councilman Jon Snyder said.

When asked by KXLY about the word usage, Fagan responded with an email saying whore is defined as "a person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain."

whore (Webster definition): A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.

It is really unfortunate that a lot [sic] of folks aren't aware, or won't take into consideration that words tend to have multiple meanings as you can see in the above Webster definition. We tend to always assume the worst," Fagan said by email.

He added that he did "stand by the quote."

"You can define it however you want. I know what people perceive when they hear that word and it's nothing good, it's nothing friendly, it's nothing dignified," Snyder said.

Snyder said that it comes down to common decency.

"We strongly condemn his actions and we think there is a better way to communicate as public officials," he said.

In his email response to KXLY, Fagan said those words shouldn't have come from a council member and in fact they didn't because he was acting on his own time with his own resources. Fagan, according to his official biography on the City of Spokane website, identifies himself as the co-founder and co-director of Voters Want More Choices, which is described as a political action committee "that advocates for lower taxes."

"I feel like I represent the city 24 hours a day and I hope my other council members feel the same way," Snyder said.

Fagan also said he was trying to point out what he says is "Inslee's broken promises" and is not sure why "tough words" are creating such a stir.

"I would greatly appreciate learning why the media hasn't shown the same kind of interest in Inslee's broken promises to the same extent as the media is showing with a few tough words in an email?"

When contacted by KXLY, the governor's office had no comment. Besides his emailed response, Fagan did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.